Full Moon
by TnT6713
Summary: Your name is Lily Luna Potter, you hate the full moon, and you know you're not the only one awake tonight.


Sun sets. You walk back to your dorm, head full of thoughts. Small thoughts, tired thoughts, shouted thoughts. It's almost as if your mind is yelling at you, telling you to stop for a while, to stop thinking and run. You can't. You wish you could, but wishing is for children. You are not a child.

_Oh, but you are_.

It's quiet, almost eerily so. You know your classmates are all in their respective common rooms, writing or reading or sleeping, even. You want to be with them. You want to be tired and happy and carefree. You want to worry about grades and teachers and social status, but you don't know how. There are more important things on your mind.

The halls seem deserted, aside from the stray Prefect or random ghost, yet you walk them anyway. You don't have time to chat or stop or sleep. You have too much energy, too much nervous energy. You pace back and forth, you traipse up and down ancient corridors, the echo of your own footsteps ringing in your ears. You keep going. Through small windows, you can see the sky getting darker and darker, the night getting later and later. You grow scared, worried and anxious and scared; your hands begin to shake. Your head hurts, you can't think, you can't breathe, you need to _stop_.

You do.

You look up at a large door with a bronze eagle-shaped knocker. One last test. You can do this, you know you can. It's simple, really. You've done it a thousand times. You reach up and knock.

"What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?"

You think. It takes you longer than it should, longer than it normally does. You're tired, tired of thinking, and it shows.

"Could it be a river?"

"Very wise, child." The door swings open and you scramble inside. You don't stop to admire the star-painted ceiling, the spaciousness of the room, or the soft carpet beneath your feet. You run straight to one of the many windows, revealing what would be a breathtaking view of the grounds in the darkness. You study the trees, but find nothing—nothing being the absence of your target. Not that you were expecting to find him, of course, but it would have been nice. Or maybe it wouldn't have. You suppose you'll never know.

Something makes you look up, though you really wish you wouldn't. The sky is completely clear, save for a few small stars, and it's almost as though the moon is staring back at you, brighter than the sun itself. It mocks you.

Full moon.

Your stomach sinks, though you suppose there's no point—you knew this was coming. You'd been counting the days since the last one. And you'll continue to count until the next one, and the next, and the next. You'll never stop counting. You wait for these days, you dread them. And you know he dreads them, too.

You run up the stairs into your dorm, quickly change into more appropriate attire, and crawl into bed. You shut the curtains, you close your eyes. You can't sleep. You don't sleep. You won't sleep.

A quiet, lonely howl winds its way through the dark and into your window, resting on your ears.

You aren't the only one awake tonight.

* * *

Ten years pass. You've stopped counting the days, yet you still listen for a quiet, lonely howl to pierce the night. It's been too long. You haven't seen him in years. Maybe this is good. Maybe he's been fixed. Magic, these days, is a powerful thing.

You sigh, hopeful, disappointed. The full moon shines down through your window, illuminating your quaint little Hogsmeade cottage. In the background, a cat meows. But you tune her out; you've got more important things to listen for.

A quiet, lonely howl.

A sad little smile.

You should have been there with him. You could have helped him. It could have been the two of you against the world, together. Side by side, hand in hand.

But he wanted to keep you safe. Even if it meant letting you go.

You slide into bed, you close your eyes.

He's the only one awake tonight.


End file.
